Tis the season to be jolly! It’s Christmas time, and Image Comics just dropped a festive Christmas comic book covering 6 different yuletide tales: STARTLING TALES OF SANTA CLAUS.
Creative Team
All stories written by: Benito Cereno;
“Christmas in the Harz” Art & Letters by: Seakae;
“The Klaubauf’s Wager” Art & Letters by: Evan “Doc” Shaner;
“Tio de Nadal” Art & Letters: Anthony Clark;
“Krampusnacht” by: Seakae;
“The Baker’s Dozen” Art & Letters by: Sakae;
“An Old-Fashioned Holiday” Art by: Emmett Graham; Colors by: Nick Filardi; Letters by: Jodie Troutman;
Covers by: Mark Laszlo; Seakae; Tom Fowler & Olli Hihnala; Dan Schkade & Nick Filardi; Lee Gatlin; Nate Bellegarde.
Book and Logo Design by: Dylan Todd; Startling Tales of Santa Clause Created by: Benito Cereno, Seakae, & Nate Bellegarde.
The Story for Startling Tales of Santa Claus #1
Christmas around the world means many different things to so many different people. From Santa, to Krampus, baby Jesus, poop logs, and more, the different traditions are never ending. Starling Tales of Santa Claus is 6 different stories that showcase just that. There’s no perfect way to celebrate the season, and this comic nailed that.
Each story weaved yuletide lore and mythology into a fun fictional story. With laughs along the way. From a story about Santa making sure a little girl on the nice list got exactly what she wanted, to watching a Nazi shudder at Krampus. I absolutely loved every story. It’s the perfect comic to read next to the tree with a festive beverage.
The Art
Each of the 6 stories had a smidge of a different take on the art, and perfectly fit the story that was being told. We kick off with an absolutely beautiful depiction of Santa and Mrs. Claus. While the story may not be all candy canes and toys, the colors and art make you feel at times that it was.
With yuletide lore comes many different yuletide “monsters” and characters. Even they were gorgeous. While Krampus looked amazing, the art also perfectly portrayed the fear someone may experience when coming face to face with him.
While the first Santa we met was beautiful, the last Santa we met so perfectly captured our American version, that it gave me that tingle of Christmas spirit. Christmas is full of eye candy, and Startling Tales of Santa Claus delivered that, while helping to tell the tales.
Overall Grade: 9.5/10
Krampus, a badass Mrs. Claus, a pooper in a nativity set… what more could you want from a Christmas comic book? I’m a sucker for lore and mythology, especially when related to Halloween or Christmas. While reading, I kept googling characters to compare the actual lore to the fictional story. As the comic wrapped up, I was pleasantly surprised to see the writer did that for us. After the last story, we get a description of the origin of this comic, and how some of the stories came to be. That was truly the marshmallow on top of my peppermint hot chocolate.
As someone who has a pooping Deadpool in her nativity set (after my trip to Barcelona last year), I had no idea about the poop log tradition. It was fun to get to read the fictional story, and learn the traditions behind it. I got to give this comic 9.5 Saint Nicholas cookies out of 10.
If you enjoy spooky Christmas stories, check out my article: Christmas Novels for the Halloween Lover.
For more from Lauren, check out ‘Hops GEEK News.’
Read any festive comic books lately? Let us know your favorites.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Leave a Reply